Hôtel Le Doge

A 1930s town mansion

Le Doge occupies a hôtel particulier — a large town house built for a single family — at 9 rue du Docteur Veyre, in Casablanca's Art Deco district. The hotel tells how an Italian entrepreneur is said to have given it to his wife, whom he met in Morocco; the house was then handed down through the generations and remained a private family home until 2009, when it became a hotel open to the public.

The renovation kept what dated from the beginning: the volumes, architectural features, wooden floors and ceilings. The furniture is period or in a 1930s spirit, the walls are lined with fabric, and the whole place feels like a collector's apartment. The house is a member of Relais & Châteaux, the international association of independent hotels and restaurants.

Sixteen rooms, sixteen artists

Each of the 16 rooms and suites is decorated after an artist or figure of the Art Deco period, from Coco Chanel to Ernest Hemingway: fabrics, colours and textures are chosen to evoke their world. The two suites are named after Ernest Hemingway and Jean Cocteau.

When choosing, size and outdoor space matter more than the name:

• Standard Room (30 m²): king-size bed, sitting area, bathtub. It suits a couple who spend the day out.
• Executive Room (35 m²): a little more space, and some have a terrace; a cot for a baby under 2 can be added.
• Junior Suite (50 m²): up to three people, shower and bathtub, balcony or terrace.
• Suite (55 m²): the Hemingway and Cocteau suites, with a terrace.

The minibar is complimentary, as are the Moroccan biscuits replenished during the stay, and each room has a coffee machine.

Our advice: for two nights as a couple, an Executive Room with a terrace is the best balance; for three people, only the suites work.

Two restaurants and a rooftop

Le Jasmine is the house's Moroccan restaurant, in a wood-panelled room under antique silver chandeliers, with hand-painted Moroccan tableware. Chef Fatima cooks the country's classic dishes. It opens Monday to Saturday, 7 pm to 11 pm local time. Next door, a library lounge serves cocktails before or after dinner.

Le Doge Café occupies the fifth-floor rooftop, looking over the roofs of the Art Deco district. Chef Gina Iscla Planavila, originally from Catalonia, serves Mediterranean cooking and tapas. From March to November the rooftop opens from 7 am to midnight; from December to February, from noon to midnight, covered and heated.

Le Jasmine closes on Sundays: that evening, dine on the rooftop or in town.

The small spa

The spa is intimate: a traditional oriental hammam — a steam bath followed by a scrub with black soap and ghassoul (a clay used to wash skin and hair) — and argan-oil massages. It opens Monday to Saturday, noon to 8 pm; booking is required, and the hotel accepts requests outside these hours. A one-hour massage is listed at 500 dirhams and the hammam at 600 dirhams.

Sabaro's view

Who it suits: couples, Art Deco enthusiasts, travellers who want to explore the centre on foot and prefer a small house to a large hotel.

Strengths: a genuine 1930s house in the heart of the district people come to see; sixteen rooms, all different; a rooftop open late; Casa Port station six minutes away.

Good to know: the hotel has neither a pool nor parking, and the street is narrow. Breakfast is not always included in the rate: the hotel's website offers it, with 30 minutes of hammam per person, when you book direct. Standard Rooms do not take a third person.